At first glance, you might assume that the Creative E-MU 0404 is just like any other sound card. It is to be inserted into your PCI slot, it has a typical looking circuit board to it.

But wait a minute here! The connection at the end are different? This is very true, this is not a consumer level card. The outputs are for breakout boxes and would be of little use for normal speakers. So if you are a gamer, then you would want to look at one of Creative’s gaming cards. This puppy is for the audiophile editing-type only.

The 0404’s form factor is the traditional PCI card you insert into a slot in your PC like any other sound card of this type. However, its input and output connectors are different. The card’s back plate has two connectors to which are connected two breakout cables with all the female connectors to accommodate all existing types of connections.

As would be expected on a card oriented toward performance, the 0404 is a 24-bit card operating at frequencies up to 96 kHz. In many ways, it performance is close to that of its higher end big brothers in the E-MU line and also offers similar possibilities. This is quite an exploit for a sound card in this price range.